Reinforced textile flyer



May 9, 1967 I c. J. COSTNER REINFORCED TEXT ILE FLYER 5 Sheets-Sheet 1Filed Nov. 27, 1964 INVENTO N ER BHQwrJd/J% C LAXZENCE-JACKSO N CosTATTORNEYS y 9, 1957 c. J. COSTNER 3,31%,U79

REINFORCED TEXTILE FLYER Filed Nov. 27, 1964 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 0INVENTOR. p CLARENCE JACKSON CosTNER wfiidr g j $714414 ATTORNEYS y 9,1957 c. J. COSTNER 3,318,079

REINFORCED TEXT ILE FLYER Filed Nov. 27, 1964 3 Sheets-$heet 5 INVENTOR:CLARENCE JAcKsoN CosTNE-R ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,318,079REINFORCED TEXTILE FLYER Clarence Jackson Costner, Bessemer City, N.C.,assignor to Ideal Industries, Inc., Bessemer City, N.C., a corporationof North Carolina Filed Nov. 27, 1964. Ser. No. 414,100 8 Claims. (Cl.57117) This invention relates to flyers, such as are used on slubbers,roving frames and analogous fly frames, and more especially, toimprovements in flyers of inverted U-shaped construction as opposed tothat type of a flyer having its legs interconnected at both ends.

As is well known, inverted U-shaped flyers are mounted on the upper endsof rotating spindles and each include a hollow leg having a presserthereon and a stabilizing leg. The flyers direct rovings from draftingrolls through the hollow leg thereof to and through a presser paddle orfoot to a corresponding rotating bobbin concentric with and locatedbetween the legs of each flyer, there being relative vertical traversingmovement between the flyers and bobbins for laying the roving on thebobbins in successive coiled layers. Fly frames are constructed withadjacent spindles as close as practicable to each other in accordancewith the size of roving packages to be wound thereon with a minimum ofclearance between the legs of adjacent rotating flyers.

Now, in order to increase production of existing fly frames, the speedof the flyers and bobbins and the diameter of the packages are increasedas much as possible. Therefore, it is very important that the flyers areaccurately balanced to avoid excessive vibration thereof at high speedsand that the centrifiugal force acting on the flyers at high speeds doesnot flex the flyer legs outwardly excessively and thereby cause theroving to be wound on the bobbins in an irregular manner and/ or causeinterengagement of the legs of adjacent flyers. Also, it is importantthat the accumulation of lint on the flyer is kept to a minimum,especially at the threading slot in the hollow leg of the flyer.Otherwise, the roving passing through the hollow leg will sometimes pickup lint from the threading slot and such lint is wound in the form ofwads or slubs onto the bobbins or it causes the roving to break as itapproaches the presser foot.

It is, therefore, an object of this invention to provide an improvedflyer and means for reinforcing the same so as to decrease the tendencyof the flyer legs to balloon or flex at high speeds while facilitatingaccurate balancing of the flyer, and which reinforcing means is soconstructed and positioned as to reduce the tendency for lint toaccumulate on the flyer.

Various attempts have been made heretofore to reinforce invertedU-shaped flyers so as to permit higher speed operation of fly frames,but to my knowledge, such attempts have improved the flyers only to alimited extent inadequate for operation at the higher speeds now indemand by the textile industry. For example, in such prior attempts,downwardly diverging reinforcing rods or vanes were connected to the twoopposed arcuate portions of a flyer, with the lower ends of the rods orvanes terminating at the junctures of the flyer legs with the respectivearcuate portions. Such prior arrangements served only to lend rigidityto the upper portions of the flyer legs without reinforcing the major orlower portions thereof, with the result that the lower ends of the flyerlegs would still flex outwardly or balloon excessively at the highspeeds at which fly frames otherwise may be operated. While theaforementioned vanes produced some turbulence in the air surrounding theflyer, such turbulence was ineffective to reduce materially anyaccumulation of lint on the legs of the flyer.

It is a more specific object of this invention, therefore,

to provide a new or rebuilt flyer with reinforcing means extending alonga major portion of each flyer leg and each arcuate portion and whereinthe reinforcing means, at least for each flyer leg, is in the form of anelongate rib connected to the flyer leg. One rib projects inwardly fromthe hollow leg and the other ri-b projects outwardly from thestabilizing leg so said one rib will not interfere with the threadingslot in the outer portion of the hollow leg or interfere with operationof the shank of the presser, and so the other rib will not require thatthe package diameter be reduced in order to clear the latter rib.Further, by having one rib projecting inwardly from the hollow leg andhaving the other rib projecting outwardly from the stabilizing leg, thetwo ribs trace paths of different radii. Thus, each rib createsconsiderable turbulen'ce with movement of each leg through the air.Also, it is believed that the .air streams created by these two pathsresult in a considerable increase in air turbulence around the legs ofthe flyers and that this feature substantially reduces the problem oflint accumulating around the flyer legs, in view of the fact thatapplicant has determined that the flyers of the instant invention maynormally be used for five or six doffs of the fly frame before the needfor cleaning arises. This compares with conventional flyers normallyrequiring cleaning after each doif.

Some of the objects of the invention having been stated, other objectswill appear as the description proceeds, when taken in connection withthe accompanying drawings, in which FIGURE 1 is a front elevation of apreferred embodiment of the flyer of the present invention associatedwith a partially filled bobbin;

FIGURES 2 and 3 are elevations looking at the respective left-hand andright-hand sides of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 4 is an elevation, partially in section, taken substantiallyalong line 4--4 in FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 5 is an enlarged sectional plan view taken along line 5-5 inFIGURE 1;

FIGURE 6 is an enlarged fragmentary view of the lower left-hand portionof FIGURE 1 showing the presser foot in its ideal position for properlylaying the roving on the package;

FIGURE 7 is a view similar to FIGURE 6 showing an undesirable positionwhich the presser foot of a conventional flyer may occupy when thecorresponding leg of the flyer is flexed outwardly unduly by centrifugalforce during high speed operation of the flyer;

FIGURE 8 is a fragmentary sectional plan view taken substantially alongline 8-43 in FIGURE 6;

FIGURE 9 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view taken substantiallyalong line 9-9 in FIGURE 6;

FIGURE 10 is a plan view similar to FIGURE 5 but showing the flyer legsin two different positions and showing the flow of air relative to theflyer legs and the conflicting air turbulence produced by thereinforcement on the two legs;

FIGURE 11 illustrates the undesirable position a presser foot may occupyrelative to the bobbin if the hollow flyer leg happens to flex outwardlyexcessively; and

FIGURE 12 is a sectional view through a roving package illustrating insolid lines the amount of roving which may be wound on a bobbin by useof the reinforced flyer of the present invention as compared to theamount defined by dotted lines which may be wound satisfactorily on abobbin when using a conventional flyer.

Referring more specifically to the drawings, the flyer 10 of the presentinvention is shown in FIGURE I mounted on the upper end of a spindle 11which is usually driven at constant speed and on which a bobbin 12 isloosely positioned. The bobbin 12 includes a body 13 and an enlargedbase 14 and is provided with a con- Cave curved surface 12a at thejuncture of body 13 and base 14. As is well known in the art, bobbin 12is reciprocated vertically relative to flyer 1t) and spindle 11 and isrotated at progressively reducing speeds relative to flyer and spindle11 during each run or winding cycle in winding a roving R onto thebobbin 12 in successive layers to form a package P which is usuallytapered at its upper and lower ends.

With the exception of the reinforcing means to be later described, flyerIt is of conventional construction. Flyer 10 is of invertedsubstantially U-shaped configuration and has a pair of opposedinterconnected first and second arcuate sections 15, 16 whichcollectively form a bight portion. The central portion of the bightportion has a barrel 17 thereon provided with an axial bore 26 and alateral opening 21. Bore 2t) fits on the upper end of spindle 11.

First and second legs 22, 23 straddle package P and bobbin 12 and areformed integrally and coextensively with the respective arcuate sections15, 16. Arcuate section is open at its upper end and is hollow. Leg 22also is hollow and open at its lower end to form a passage 24 forguiding roving R as it is drawn from the usual drafting rolls, notshown, into the bore 2t} through opening 21, partially around barrel 17,through passage 24, around a presser arm 25 and through the eye 26 of apresser foot or paddle 27 to be wound onto bobbin 12.

The outer portion of hollow leg 22 is provided With a longitudinallyextending curvilinear slot 30 to permit threading roving R withinpassage 24. conventionally, the upper portion of leg 22 has an inwardlyprojecting lug 31 thereon and formed with a notch 32 therein in which acurved piece 33 is loosely positioned and supported for angular movementabout leg 22. Curved piece 33 is a part of the presser, broadlydesignated at 34, and which includes an elongate balance stem 35extending substantially parallel with leg 22 and having a split collar36 on its lower end which is loosely mounted for angular movement on thelower end of leg 22. Presser arm 25 is integral with split collar 36.

The upper edge of presser foot 27 has a slot 37 therein for threadingroving R into eye 26 and, as best shown in FIGURES 6, 8 and 9, the innerface of presser foot 27 has an elongate recessed guide surface or groove40 therein which tapers to infinity from the eye 26 to a point adjacentthe free end of presser foot 27. FIGURE 6 shows the guide surface 40extending perpendicular or at a right angle to the vertical axis ofbobbin 12 and package P, as is desirable throughout the run. Thisarrangement insures that successive convolutions of roving are properlypositioned with respect to each other in accordance with the programmedrequirements of the fly frame. Further, the condition of FIGURE 6 servesto cause the guide surface 40 to condense the roving R slightly justbefore it is laid onto package P thereby reducing or minimizingfuzziness and shedding of the roving.

By way of comparison, FIGURES 7 and 11 illustrate the condition orpositions of the presser foot when the supporting leg therefor is flexedoutwardly of its normal position by centrifugal force at high speeds asis frequently the case with conventional flyers. Accordingly, thoseparts of the conventional fiyer 10' and associated bobbin 12 in FIGURES7 and 11 shall bear the same reference characters as like or similarparts shown in FIGURE 6, but have the prime notation added. It will benoted that, when the flyer leg 22 is flexed outwardly of its normal,desired position as shown in FIGURE 7, the presser foot 27 occupies anangular lower-than-normal position with respect to the path of theroving passing from the eye 26 to the package P. Thus, the roving movesin a path offset with respect to the axis of guide surface 40 so theroving is not properly condensed by the guide surface 40', but instead,the roving rides against one edge of guide surface 40 as it leaves eye26', thus aggravating the problem of lint shedding from the roving.

When the presser foot is deflected downwardly of its intended positionas in FIGURE 7, it also causes the roving convolutions to be formedirregularly so the convolutions in successive layers may not be woundproperly. This also produces undesirable variations in roving tensionand package density.

It will be observed in FIGURE 11 that the presser foot 27 of theconventional type of flyer is engaging the curved surface 12a at thejuncture of the body 13' and base 14 of the corresponding bobbin 12', acondition which could exist in the course of laying the first fewconvolutions of roving R on the bobbin 12. In so doing. it will be notedthat the curved surface 12a causes the presser foot 27 to move outwardlyaway from the bobbin body 13' or the corresponding coils of roving beingwound thereon. This results in the roving R actually being pulled awayfrom the body 13 or the previously wound coils of roving. While thecondition of the presser foot 27 shown in FIGURE 11 could occur due toexcessive ballooning of the flyer leg 22 (FIGURE 7) causing the presserfoot 27 to be deflected downwardly of its normal or intended positionduring high speed operation of the fly frame, such condition cannot betolerated because the movement of the presser foot 27 outwardly of itsintended position by engagement thereof with the curved surface 12acauses irregular winding of the roving and, more importantly, wouldusually cause breakage of the roving R.

Since a fly frame includes a large number of flyers and the hollow legsof the various conventional flyers on a given fly frame may flexoutwardly various distances with respect to each other during high speedoperation of the fly frame, it follows that the various presser feet 27'on the fly frame would also be deflected downwardly different amountswith respect to each other. Accordingly, it has been necessaryheretofore to adjust the conventional bobbin traverse mechanism so thatthe presser foot on the weakest or least rigid hollow leg 22 of all theflyers on the particular fly frame would not engage the curved surface12a of the corresponding bobbin 12' during ballooning of the flyers athigh speed operation there of when the bobbins reached their highestposition at the end of successive strokes thereof. On the other hand,the bobbin traverse mechanism also had to be adjusted so that the extentof downward movement of the bobbins during the winding of the first fewlayers of roving thereon would not be such that the presser foot on thatflyer having the strongest hollow leg of all the flyers on the fly framewould be so close to the upper ends of the bobbins as to cause theuppermost coils on the bobbins to be inadequately supported.

It follows, therefore, that the length of traverse of the bobbinsrelative to the conventional flyers had to be limited heretofore toproperly accommodate that flyer that ballooned the most and that flyerthat ballooned the least, as indicated, for example, by the dotted linesm in FIGURE 12, with full lines M representing the increased length oftraverse obtainable by this invention. It can be seen therefore that theexcessive flexing or ballooning of the legs of conventional flyers haspresented many problems on fly frames and has limited the productioncapacity of fly frames especially to the extent that they have limitedthe amount of roving which could be wound onto a bobbin of given size ascompared to the amount which otherwise could be wound on the bobbin ifthe problem of excessive ballooning of the flyer legs did not exist.

Now, in order that existing U-shaped flyers or new U- shaped flyers ofsimilar construction may be operated efficiently at higher speeds thanhave been practicable heretofore, I have reinforced the flyer legsthroughout at least a major portion of the length thereof withoutmaterially decreasing the usable or effective space therebetween so thatlarger more uniformly wound packages may be wound utilizing the improvedfiyers on fly frames. To this end, I have provided a first reinforcingrib 45 on and projecting substantially radially inwardly from the firstor hollow leg 22 and a second reinforcing rib 46 on and projectingsubstantially radially outwardly from the second or stabilizing leg 23.

The maximum diameter of the package P is limited by the split collar 36at the lower end of the presser arm 35. Therefore, rib 45 projectsinwardly a lesser or no greater extent from leg 22 than split collar 36.Preferably, rib 45 is formed as an extension of lug 31. Rib 45 also isintegral with and serves as an extension of a first arcuate rib 50projecting substantially radially inwardly from and extendingsubstantially throughout the length of arcuate section 15. The lower endof rib 45 may terminate immediately above split collar 36, but is shownspaced about one inch above collar 36 so as not to interfere withwrapping the roving R around presser arm 25.

In modifying existing flyers, ribs 45, 50 may be welded or otherwisesuitably fused to leg 22 and arcuate section 15. In the manufacture ofnew fiyers, ribs 45, 50 may be fused to or formed integral with leg 22and arcuate section 15.

Rib 46 is integral with a second arcuate rib 51 projecting substantiallyradially outwardly from and substantially throughout the length ofsecond arcuate section 16. The lower end of rib 46 may terminate at thelower end of leg 23 or a short distance thereabove as shown in FIGURES land 3. Depending upon the size of the flyer and the center-to-centerdistance between adjacent flyers, rib as may project from leg 22 aboutA; to M; inch. Ribs 46, 51 also may be fused to or formed integral withleg 23 and arcuate section 16. In modifying existing fiyers, leg 23 maybe provided with a shallow groove 52 along its length (FIGURE 5) withrib 46 fitting in groove 52 and secured therein by a press fit or bysweating. The stabilizing leg 23 may be of hollow or tubularconstruciton, if desired, in manufacturing new flyers according to thisinvention.

Ribs 45, 46, 5t), 51 are of substantially lesser width than legs 22, 23and arcuate sections 15, 16 for several reasons. The narrow width of theribs provides suificient strength to the legs without unduly increasingthe weight of the flyer; the narrow width of the ribs facilitatesattachment thereof to existing or new flyers; since the leg 22 issubstantially circular in cross-section and leg 23 is substantiallyoval-shaped in cross-section, the ribs provide abrupt interruptions inthe contour of the legs and arcuate sections of the flyer which createturbulence in the air adjacent the flyer during rotation thereof therebypreventing lint from readily accumulating on the flyer as is the casewith conventional flyers; and the narrow ribs may be easily ground toremove stock therefrom as may be required in order to dynamicallybalance the flyer lit with its presser 34 to avoid vibration duringrotation thereof. Ribs 46, 51 are also of small cross-sectional area sostabilizing leg 23 may be bent as desired to further effect properdynamic balancing of the flyer.

In practice, it was found that about 20% more roving may be wound on apackage P about inches long and 5 inches diameter when using a flyerreinforced according to the present invention as compared to using aconventional flyer. One of the reasons why the package size could beincreased is because, by decreasing the tendency for the flyer legs toflex outwardly, the distance between the flyer legs of the present flyermay be increased, as compared to the distance between the legs ofconventional fiyers, without the legs of adjacent fiyers engaging eachother.

After reason why the reinforced flyer of the present invention permits asubstantial increase in the size of the package is, by decreasing thetendency for the fiyer legs to flex outwardly, the transverse mechanismmay be adjusted so the maximum stroke of the presser foot 27 is suchthat the presser foot moves much closer to the base of the bobbin thanhas been practicable heretofore. Thus, the overall length of the packageP may be greater as indicated by the solid lines M in FIGURE 12.Further, whereas a conventional 10" X 5 flyer could be rotated at amaximum speed of about 900 rpm, a flyer reinforced according to thisinvention was operated satisfactorily at a speed of about 1600 rpm.

It is well known that an object having a smooth rounded leading edgeportion generally produces less turbulence when moving through the airthan an object having a flat or abruptly irregularly contoured leadingedge. Thus, by referring to FIGURE 10, it will be noted that theirregular leading and trailing edges provided on the flyer legs 22, 23by the projecting ribs 45, 46 interrupt the smooth flow of air past thelegs 22, 23 so the air is caused to flow in divers directionssubstantially as in dicated by the arrows. As the air isdivertedoutwardly at each leg, it produces negative pressure closelyadjacent the exterior surfaces of the legs and ribs, thus ending todeflect lint away from the flyer legs.

This is very important because, if lint is permitted to accumulate onthe flyer legs, it forms into wads which get onto the roving beingwound. In particular, if lint is permitted to accumulate adjacent thethreading slot 30, it sometimes is moved along this slot by the roving Rand clogs the open lower end of the passage 24 to such extent as tosnarl and break the roving or to be picked up by the roving and carriedinto the package P.

To further assist in minimizing accumulation of lint on the fiyer legs,it will be noted that the ribs 22, 23 trace circular paths of differentdiameters so the turbulence created by each rib increases the turbulenceof the air at the other rib, as indicated by comparing the solid andbroken line positions of the flyer legs in FIGURE 10.

It is thus seen that the improved reinforced flyer permits increasingthe speed of fly frames: to about twice the speed they could be operatedwhen using conventional inverted U-shaped flyers thereon, Whileimproving the quality of the roving and resulting in improved efficiencyin the operation of spinning frames on which the roving packagessubsequently may be used.

In the drawings and specification there has been set forth a preferredembodiment of the invention and, al though specific terms are employed,they are use-d in a generic and descriptive sense only and not forpurposes of limitation, the scope of the invention being defined in theclaims.

I claim:

I. A rotary textile flyer having an inverted substantially U-shaped bodycomprising a pair of opposed arcuate upper sections and a pair ofopposed elongate first and second legs depending from the uppersections, said first leg being hollow, a presser mounted for angularmovement on said first leg and having a presser foot thereon fordirecting roving therefrom in a packageforming operation; a ribconnected to and extending along a major portion of the length of eachleg, said ribs being in diametrically opposed relationship andprojecting radially of the axis of the flyer with said ribs being oflesser width than the corresponding legs and cooperating therewith tocreate substantial turbulence in the air around the legs during rotationof the flyer to minimize accumulation of lint on said legs.

2. A rotary textile flyer having an inverted substantially U-shaped bodycomprising a pair of opposed arcuate upper sections and a pair ofopposed elongate first and second legs depending from the uppersections, said first leg being hollow, a presser mounted for angularmovement on said first leg and having a presser foot thereon fordirecting roving therefrom in a package-forming operation; meansextending along a major portion of the length of each leg forreinforcing the legs and for creating turbulence in the air around thelegs when the flyer is rotated to minimize accumulation of lint on thelegs, said means being in the form of projecting ribs providing abruptinterruptions on the legs.

3. In a flyer having an inverted substantially U-shaped body comprisinga pair of opposed arcuate upper sections and a pair of opposed elongatelegs depending from the upper sections, a centrally locatedsubstantially vertical barrel carried by and located at the juncture ofsaid arcuate sections, one of said legs and its respective arcuatesection being hollow and open at both ends for passage of rovingtherethrough and having a presser thereon with a presser foot on saidpresser; means to restrain said legs from ballooning due to centrifugalforce during rotation of the flyer and for creating turbulences at saidlegs to minimize accumulation of lint thereon comprising an elongate ribconnected to and extending along a major portion of the length of eachleg, the rib connected to said hollow leg projecting inwardly toward theother leg, and the rib connected to said other leg projecting outwardlyaway from said hollow leg.

4. A flyer according to claim 3, wherein said ribs are of substantiallyless width than the width of the corresponding legs.

5. In a flyer having an inverted substantially U-shaped body comprisinga pair of opposed arcuate upper sections and a pair of opposed elongatelegs depending from the upper sections, a centrally locatedsubstantially vertical barrel carried by and located at the juncture ofsaid arcuate sections, one of said legs and its respective arcuatesection being hollow and open at both ends for passage of rovingtherethrough and having a presser thereon with a presser foot on saidpresser; reinforcing means to restrain said legs from ballooning due tocentrifugal force during rotation of the flyer comprising an elongaterib connected to and extending along a major portion of each leg andalong a major portion of the length of each arcuate section, the ribconnected to said hollow leg projecting inwardly toward the other leg,and the rib connected to said other leg projecting outwardly away fromsaid hollow leg.

6. A structure according to claim 5, wherein said ribs are integral withsaid legs.

7. A structure according to claim 5, wherein said other leg has alongitudinally extending groove therein and wherein the correspondingrib is connected to said other leg by fitting tightly in said groove.

3. A structure according to claim 5, wherein said ribs are fused to saidlegs.

References Qited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 694,876 3/1902Meller 57-1 17 2,535,736 12/1950 Hattersley 57-117 2,814,177 11/1957Meyer-Busche 57117 2,919,535 1/1960 Robinson 57115 3,157,020 11/ 1964Schwager 57-117 FRANK I. COHEN, Primary Examiner.

A. I. SIDOTI, Assistant Examiner.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent No 3 318079 May 9 1967 Clarence Jackson Costner hat error appears in the abovenumbered pat- It is hereby certified t e said Letters Patent should readas ent requiring correction and that th corrected below.

Column 1, line 33, for "centrifiugal" read centrifugal column 5, line72, for "After" read Another line 75, for "transverse" read traversecolumn 6, line 21, for "ending" read tending Signed and sealed this 14thday of November 1967.

(SEAL) Attest:

EDWARD J BRENNER Commissioner of Patents Edward M. Fletcher, It.

Attesting Officer

1. A ROTARY TEXTILE FLYER HAVING AN INVERTED SUBSTANTIALLY U-SHAPED BODYCOMPRISING A PAIR OF OPPOSED ARCUATE UPPER SECTIONS AND A PAIR OFOPPOSED ELONGATE FIRST AND SECOND LEGS DEPENDING FROM THE UPPERSECTIONS, SAID FIRST LEG BEING HOLLOW, A PRESSER MOUNTED FOR ANGULARMOVEMENT ON SAID FIRST LEG AND HAVING A PRESSER FOOT THEREON FORDIRECTING ROVING THEREFROM IN A PACKAGEFORMING OPERATION; A RIBCONNECTED TO AND EXTENDING ALONG A MAJOR PORTION OF THE LENGTH OF EACHLEG, SAID RIBS BEING IN DIAMETRICALLY OPPOSED RELATIONSHIP ANDPROJECTING RADIALLY OF THE AXIS OF THE FLYER WITH SAID RIBS BEING OFLESSER WIDTH THAN THE CORRESPONDING LEGS AND COOPERATING THEREWITH TOCREATE SUBSTANTIAL TURBULENCE IN THE AIR AROUND THE LEGS DURING ROTATIONOF THE FLYER TO MINIMIZE ACCUMULATION OF LINT ON SAID LEGS.